Money & Influence Legislation

Money & Influence Legislation

When big business pays for a measure or a candidate, voters deserve to know. Check out our bold new transparency measures:

Political Party Committee Disclosures

AB 84 (Mullin -South San Francisco)

California Common Cause opposed this Legislation

Summary: AB 84 is a gut-and-amend bill that will be the biggest rollback of the Political Reform Act’s campaign finance laws in at least a decade. It allows the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Assembly and Senate to form and control their own “political party committees,” which enables them to solicit and receive contributions up to $36,500 for their targeted state races — that’s more than eight times the $4,400 maximum currently permitted by law. The bill makes it legal for legislative leaders, from these committees, to give unlimited amounts of money directly to state candidate committees. And it even enables legislative leaders, for the first time, to receive unlimited contributions that they can then spend in unlimited amounts on independent expenditures for and against candidates – something that is illegal under current law. It also makes modest changes to financial disclosures.

Social Media Disclosure Act

AB 2188 (Mullin – South San Francisco)

California Common Cause is sponsoring this Legislation

Summary: This bill follows up on last year’s AB 249, the California Disclose Act, which was a major victory for California Common Cause. AB 2188 requires all online social media platforms to include a “Who funded this ad?” link on all sponsored posts on social media websites. Clicking on the link will take the user to a list of top three funders of the ad. AB 2188 will create clear, informative disclosures on social media advertisements and provide the public with a convenient way to see who is funds political ads on social media.

Ballot Initiative Transparency

SB 651 (B. Allen – Santa Monica)

California Common Cause was involved in the drafting of this Legislation

Summary: SB 651 will improve disclosure on ballot measure petitions by requiring circulated initiative, referendum and recall petitions to include — either on the petition or on a separate document — an updated, accurate disclosure of the committee that paid for the petition, plus that committee’s top 3 funders. The measures proponents may also list up to three other supporters of the measure, in order to show broader support. Understanding who is funding and who supports an initiative campaign can provide valuable context to registered voters, and may inform their decision to sign or to more closely inspect the circulated petition.